Before venturing into the French Wine Scholar (FWS) program, you should know that it’s big, it’s very detailed and demanding and it’s VERY MUCH WORTH IT. I have completed the third level of WSET (Wine and Spirit Education Trust) successfully and selected the FWS program with the conviction that understanding French terroir and wines is… Continue reading 3 Ways the French Wine Scholar Program is Different from WSET 3
In the mid-19th century, Malbec, Carménère, and Tannat left their homeland France heading to South America- future unknown. Just like most immigrants armed only by their abilities and potential, these grapes have adapted and prospered in their new homes. Malbec is reaching new heights (literally and figuratively) in Argentina, Carménère became Chile’s signature grape and… Continue reading The Story of Malbec, Carménère and Tannat
🌳Oaked wines are wines that have been fermented or matured in barrels made of Oak wood.🥥Wine usually gains flavours and texture from contact with oak and will likely gain aromas like vanilla, butter, toast, coconut, or baking spices. Oaked white wines usually have more body than its unoaked counterpart, while oaked red wine usually have… Continue reading What is Oaked Wine?
White wines are not usually aged like red wines BUT there are exceptions! Usually, white wines are produced to be enjoyed as 🍋fresh, crisp and ripe/fresh fruity drink and ageing them tends to diminish these qualities. Sometimes winemakers produce white wines that will benefit from further ageing and then specific grape varieties and the winemaking… Continue reading Can You Age White Wine?
Like the rise of Australia and California in the 1970s, New Zealand in the 1980s and South Africa in the 2000s, Lebanon is now having its moment in the sun as an emerging wine exporting country. Driven mainly by the good reputation of its wine and the global support for the country through buying its… Continue reading Evolution of Lebanese Wine Export: The importance of style and storytelling
Which wines get better with aging and what makes them age worthy? Chateau Musar Cellars ( by Lucy Pope) Most of the wines on the market are produced/designed to be enjoyed young. They are aged in their wineries for a couple of years and then released to the market to be drunk shortly after. Few… Continue reading Aging Wine
🍇Red/ purple/ black wine grapes make red wine. They do because the color of the grape skin is what gives red wine its color. The intensity of the skin color/ thickness of skin/ and the time the grape juice spent cuddled up with the grape skin before fermentation are main factors to the color of… Continue reading Red Wine 101
Lebanese wine is mostly of very good quality. The Lebanese people knows it, wine critics know it, and now the rest of the world is just starting to catch up. There’s a renewed global interest in Lebanese wine with news platforms like Bloomberg and the Guardian recently calling it “superb” and building a case of… Continue reading Lebanese Wine: Why the world is giving it attention and how to ride the wave of global demand
A good food and wine pairing enhances our experience of both so they end up tasting better together than when consumed on their own. Food that is salty and acidic is more friendly to match with wine while food that is sweet, spicy and bitter (umami taste-think mushroom, soy sauce...) is more challenging.Food changes the… Continue reading Wine and Food Pairing 101
In the debate of Old World wine producers versus the New World producers, Lebanon falls in the ancient wine producer category. The Phoenician civilization in Lebanon (1550BC-300 BC) were thought to be among the first traders of wine based on ancient wine amphorae, clay vessels, found in 2700 year old shipwrecks in the Mediterranean Sea.… Continue reading Overview of the Wines of Lebanon
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